The projects came on stream at the cost of 6.5 trillion rials (some $530 million based on the official 12,260 rial to USD rate).

Deputy oil minister Alierza Zeyqami said on June 21 that once the gasoline production units of Lavan, Esfahan, Bandar Abbas, and Tabriz refineries come on stream, the country's production capacity of gasoline conforming to euro 4 would raise to 50 million liters per day.

Managing Director of Lavan Oil Refinery Company (LORC) Mohammad-Ali Dadvar said on July 17 that Lavan refinery will be exporting some 25 percent of its output, adding that masut and liquefied gas are would be the exported items.

Currently, the refinery produces 1,080,000 liters of gasoline, 1.7 million liters of masut, and 30 tons of liquefied gas per day.

Iran has increased oil refining capacity at the Lavan petrochemical facility by 10,000 barrels per day in an effort to counter the US sanctions and export petrochemical products instead of crude oil, the Mehr News agency reported last week.